Poke-Phobia
by Arrow Riddari
Summary: Being a trainer is never easy, especially if you are terrified of Pokemon. Yet, what do you have to do if you need to get money to pay off debt left by your dad, so you don't become homeless? This is the story of my life [story told in 3rd person, as an experiment, as I haven't written in a while. Testing my writing skill]. Disclaimer: I do NOT own Pokemon. Please give feedback.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Pokemon trainers start at ten, but for this story, this special one starts at fifteen. Also, shipping choices will be revealed in chapter 2 or later. I will be featuring semi-graphical violent scenes in some parts, but not any other kind of scenes. If a character has a baby or something, there will not be any scenes of the original period of time the conception happened. It will just skip to the pregnancy period, which will be semi-graphic, and then a semi-graphic birth. This story is T primarily for language and some violence. This story is an experiment, as I have not written in forever. I had severe Writer's Block. I am willing to write again. Please Read and Review for the feedback. If there is no feedback, at least answer the riddle or questions in the bottom.**

_A little boy was off to play in front of a large grove of trees on the outskirts of town, while his mother was picking berries a little distance away. The little boy loved Pokemon, wanting to become a trainer like most other boys his age. He simply adored and marveled at the creatures that possessed so much raw power in their bodies. The little boy, at age five, wanted to become the Champion of the Kanto region, and later, the other regions, to become a Pokemon Master. Often, most other students at his preschool said that he couldn't make it, as the little boy was a bad test taker and had low attention span, bordering on ADHD. But, the little boy believed he could become Champion, just like how Lance, the Dragon Master, was the current Champion of Kanto. And later, beat all the other leagues and catch every single Pokemon there is… To become a Pokemon Master._

_The little boy saw a little purple mouse with large buck teeth running back to the deeper side of the woods with a small blue berry in its mouth. The boy, noticing that his mother wasn't watching him, abandoned the crayons and coloring book he was using to amuse himself, followed the little mouse into a different clearing, which headed for Viridian Forest. He smiled to himself, wanting to play with the purple mouse and hoping that it could become his friend._

_The mother had noticed almost immediately that her son was not around. The familiar chatter of her five year old baby was not heard from her, and she began to panic, searching around the outskirts of the grove of trees that was slightly outside of Pallet Town. She kept calling her son's name, fearing that he had gone off somewhere dangerous, and was just praying that he was hiding in the trees from her._

_The little boy followed the mouse to a field, until the light of the sun started to fade. He looked around at the evening sky and looked behind him, not being able to see his mother through the tall grass that was higher than him. The little mouse had run off as well, and the little boy had now realized that he was lost. He was about to start crying, when he heard a loud piercing cry of "Rooow!" overhead._

_A large flock of twenty or so birds with a brown plumage was flying overhead in a V formation. The flock all had red wings and crooked beaks. Their chests were beige with two thin stripes and they had a set of wicked talons on their legs. They had three brown tail feathers and, though the boy couldn't see them, the backs of the little bird Pokemon were black._

_The little boy looked up at them and the leader of the flock looked down at him. All at once, the staring contest stopped as the leader cried, "SPEAROW!" and the entire flock began dive bombing the boy. The boy screamed and tried to run, crying now for his mommy. The crooked, yet sharp beaks of the birds met the boy's exposed flesh and caused him to bleed. The birds ripped his clothing while attacking him, as the little boy screamed and cried. He curled into a ball, trying to protect his reddish-brown eyes with his tiny fair, now bloody hands. Through the small crack of his fingers, he could see the small purple mouse that he followed before hiding from the flock, instead of helping him._

_Meanwhile, the mother could hear the sounds of her baby's screams as she ran towards the source. She had already called the father of the boy with her Poke-phone [predecessor of a PokeNav and Pokegear], and said father was now with her, with his Charizard. The two were on the large fire lizard, searching for the boy through the air. They spotted the Spearow flock hurting the boy and the man ordered his Charizard to let loose a Flamethrower close to the birds. The birds, seeing the flames and the powerful fire lizard, flew off, leaving an unconscious five year old in the field._

_The father and mother picked up the boy and immediately took him to the local doctor. The doctor managed to save the boy from the brink of death, and the boy recuperated fully. The parents were overjoyed and took their son home. However, they never saw one lasting effect… Their son had turned out afraid of Pokemon…_

**...**

Ash Ketchum woke up, as today was his fifteenth birthday. It had been ten years from the incident with the Spearow and eight years after his father vanished off the face of the earth. His father left a lot of loans and debt for them, from gambling with other trainers at the Celadon casino from when the man was a teen. Thanks to his dad leaving, his mom had to beg for keeping the house. If it hadn't been for Professor Oak, who viewed Delia as a daughter, as she was best friends with his son, Blue Oak, the family of two would have been kicked out on the streets.

Ash showered in the cold water and quickly put on a navy blue and white vest, with a black shirt inside, and a set of black tight pants. He also had a brown leather belt on his waist to secure his pants and navy blue running shoes. The only thing not complementing his blue and black theme was the red and white hat that he had for years. Ash traced the thin scars littered over his hands from the Spearow incident.

"Mom, what's for breakfast," Ash said. Delia Ketchum smiled at her only child as she poured some milk and put some of the previous night's leftovers on a plate. She worked at a small restaurant for enough pay to pay off the bills and leftovers to take home for her growing son and herself. The manager of the restaurant used to be in a similar situation as Delia's, until the woman married again and her new husband helped finance her life, so the woman often sympathized with Delia and gave her extra tip money anonymously and let the single mother take the food home.

"Thanks Mom," Ash said, eating eagerly. Delia sighed, watching her son practically inhale the food, but noticing how he left half of the food for her. She realized that he had, once again, figured out that his mother gave up her portion of the meal for him, and he was obviously going to stop her from doing so.

"Sweetie, eat the rest," she ordered.

"No Mom," Ash said, looking at his mother and pushing the plate of food to her. Delia sighed again.

"Dear, you are a growing boy and-," she was cut off.

"Mom, we both need to eat. You need to conserve your strength for working today and I need to help you by doing the paper route and by helping around town." It was a daily thing that Ash would ride his bike and deliver newspapers to the houses in Pallet while getting small amounts of money for them. Mostly, everyone was nice to the friendly teen and would often have Ash come in and fix their roofs, mow their lawns, and do other handy work for pay.

"About that Ashie…" his mother said, biting her lower lip. Ash's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Well, it has been found recently that your father even owed more money than we initially assumed. He had actually gambled at other times of his life, not just his teen years. I never knew because he would go out very late at night and do so. We have now twice the amount we need to pay off…" his mother said, with her shoulders slumping dejectedly. Ash's eyes widened at the amount on the papers. Seriously, was that many zeroes even possible?

"What will we do?" Ash asked, looking very worried. They may actually have to sell the house now, which they didn't have to do before, luckily.

"Ash, I am so sorry to ask you of this… But you need to take up Pokemon training," Delia said.

"WHAT?! BUT MOM-?!" Ash exclaimed, his eyes wide.

"Dear, listen to me. We will need to sell the house if you do not do this. I am too old now and have to stay here and manage the bills and the house. As a minor, I highly doubt you can do that. Pokemon training will give us the money we need, as you get prize money from every trainer you defeat. The higher the status of your trainer rank, the more you get. By defeating gyms, you get higher in rank. This will be the best way to make enough money to pay back the debts dear."

"But, Mom, I hate Pokemon," Ash said, glaring a bit at this idea, but still seeing sense.

"Dear, I know you do. At least go to the fourth gym. By then, you should make 1000 Poke-dollars a battle. If you do 100 battles, we should have 1,000,000 Poke-dollars, which is enough, without the interest. I can handle the house's finances and the interest payment while you are gone."

"But-" Ash tried to protest.

"Please, Ash, just do it for me. For us as a family," Delia begged.

"Fine. On the condition that you never let that bastard of a father into this house again and that you make sure to kick him in the balls for me so he cannot have any more kids to place into this situation," Ash said, giving in.

"I agree to that condition, but you are getting your mouth washed off with soap for that kind of language, young man," Delia said, smiling.

Ash grimaced and ran off, heading to the Professor's lab for his first Pokemon.

**Anyways, couple of questions:**

**1. How do you like the beginning so far, oh fellow readers?**

**2. Who should Ash possibly be paired with in the list below and why? Now, I just want other's opinion. I may or may not follow it. I am quite partial to Altoshipping, provided that Ash gets turned into a Latios/ gets Pokemon powers/ gets to be a Pokemorph OR if Latias becomes a human. I also like Pokeshipping at times, so long as it is done right. Here is the list:**

**-Pokeshipping [Ash and Misty]**

**-Altochipping [Ash and Latias]**

**-Advanceshipping [Ash and May]**

**-Rayshipping [Ash and Cynthia, provided that she is younger]**

**3. Other possible shipping ideas?**

**-Sacroshipping [Prof. Oak and Prof. Juniper]**

**-Mizukishipping [Cyrus and Cynthia, they look cute together until Cyrus goes all evil]**

**-Rocketshipping [James and Jessie]**

**-Diamondshipping [Giovanni and Delia, it would explain some stuff. Giovanni ditches his wife and kid to take over the world. He actually used the money to finance his criminal organization, known as Team Rocket]**

**-Contestshipping [Drew and May]**

...

**Here is the riddle of the chapter...**

**I am a Pokemon,**

**Look at me.**

**Flying high with with my flock,**

**Oh so happily.**

**We often group together,**

**As a happy family.**

**My evolved form is arrogant and strong,**

**Just like me.**

**Brown and red,**

**Those are my hues,**

**If you catch and subdue me,**

**I will submit to you.**

**But, come in to my territory,**

**You will cry.**

**I will dive bomb you with my beak,**

**What Pokemon am I?**

**...**

**Read and review everyone :).**


	2. Chapter 2

Ash walked reluctantly to Oak's lab, taking slow steps all the way. His mother had already packed his bag from the night before and he groaned, as that made his journey come around even faster. He trekked along the dirt path that led from his house to Oak's laboratory. Overhead, several Pidgeys flew, but he ignored them and they ignored him. So long as the Pokemon wasn't five feet away from him or touching him, he was fine with them minding their own business and coexisting in harmony with him.

And that seemed to the problem… While he didn't like touching Pokemon and being near them within the limits of five feet, Pokemon seemed to be _very _attracted to him for some reason. They loved him and often followed him. This event was followed by much screaming, hyperventilation, and even fainting on Ash's part. Still, Ash trekked on, albeit very unwillingly.

After thirty minutes of walking, Ash stood in front of Oak's lab, with the fields of wild Pokemon behind it. Ash was lucky, he had yet to have a Pokemon come near him so far.

"Wow, Ashy-boy, I never expected you to ever come in here alone without screaming for your mommy like some pathetic baby," a haughty voice called. Ash steeled his face to an impassive look, immediately recognizing that face. He looked up and saw a spikey haired brunette with dark viridian eyes that looked black in the sun. The brunette had on a navy blue, long sleeved shirt and a set of black pants. He also wore a black leather vest on top and around his waist, had a spiked belt, with six red and white balls on it. He wore a necklace with a half of a Poke-ball on it. A blue shelled Pokemon stood on the fifteen year old boy's shoulder.

"Watch it, Gare-bear," Ash said, his face looking unaffected, while his eyes betrayed the slight anger and irritation he was feeling.

"Oh, and what can you do to me, Ashy? All I have to do is send out my Pokemon and you will go screaming and crying back to your mommy like the pathetic baby you are. Help, Mommy that Pokemon is scawwy!" Gary taunted. Ash glared at him.

"Shut up," Ash said, shoving Gary on the floor. Squirtle, the Pokemon Gary had on his shoulder, got on the floor on its two hind legs and growled low at Ash, while baring its teeth. Ash winced as he saw the Squirtle and moved back into the trees. Squirtle, noticing the foreign human was scared, tilted its head to the side curiously and came up to sniff Ash, wondering what was scaring him. Ash began breathing heavily, his chest constricting as his vision turned blurry. The turtle advanced further, not noticing that it was the source of the human's anxiety attack. Ash panicked more, finding it very hard to breath. The world felt like it was suffocating itself on him and his vision became worse. As the Squirtle came right next to him, he fell backwards, fainting on the floor in front of his rival.

…

Ash woke up on a bed with Professor Oak standing over him. The room came into focus as he saw the elderly man in front of him. The professor smiled gently and Ash got to a sitting position, noticing that Gary was not there. The Professor handed Ash some water and, after the boy had finished drinking, allowed the boy to rest.

After two housr of resting, Ash got up, figuring that he could walk now. His anxiety attack had long gone and he wanted to get something to eat. Professor Oak came into the room, holding a plate with sandwiches. Ash thanked the professor and silently ate his sandwich.

"Professor, I was wondering if you had any Pokemon available. I want to become a trainer," Ash said, after finishing his sandwich and wiping his mouth.

"What brings this on, Ash Ketchum?" Professor Oak asked.

"I figured that I could try to lose my fear of Pokemon," Ash said, shrugging.

"Does this have to do with the money that you need to pay off?" Professor Oak asked. The boy in front of him shrugged, but the guilty expression in his eyes told the elderly man everything he needed to know.

Professor Oak sighed and motioned for Ash to follow him. They walked to the room where trainers typically get their starter Pokemon and Ash looked around the room he would be meeting his starter in. Ever since the Spearow had set up territory outside of Pallet Town, they had been attacking beginning trainers to protect their territory. Many younger ten year old trainers had been targets of the Spearow and a few came close to being as injured as Ash was. Because of this, the new trainers' age limit had been pushed back to 15 and trainers were given emergency Potions to go through to get to Viridian City. Professor Oak was the one responsible for giving new trainers Pokemon still. Just like how he will do for Ash.

"Normally, I would not allow you to get a Pokemon just for using it to make money by battling. However, I have known you as a child and I know, that even you despise Pokemon and are terrified of them, you still do not view them as tools of power and respect them as sentient beings that coexist with humans. For that reason, I am willing to give you a Pokemon," the Professor said, pulling out a black ball that had a gold band around the middle, with a gold button. It had a set of rings on the top and bottom half that were both red. There was a ring of gold surrounding the ring of red as well.

"Ash, this Pokemon was abandoned by its former trainer, since it initially did not know any attacking moves. It cannot hurt you because of this. I had found it wandering my fields in the back, malnourished and very injured. I had placed it in a Luxury Ball and healed it, but it hates me and would only eat when I was not around. The Pokemon is hostile to me, but I think you can be the one to show that humans have a good side. And, this Pokemon can teach you about the Pokemon's good side as well," the elderly man said, handing the Luxury Ball to Ash. Ash twirled the ball around in his hands experimentally, looking at the black sheen on it that reflected the light.

"Well, throw out the Pokemon," Oak said. Ash glared slightly and threw the Poke-ball. The ball opened and a flash of red light materialized into a white humanoid Pokemon. The little Pokemo looked like a child, with two arms and a night gown that flowed over its body and separated onto two legs on the floor. The Pokemon had a green helmet that covered its eyes and two red 'horn' features that stuck out of its head.

"Ralts?" it said, cocking its head curiously. By using the Pokedex Oak gave him, the Ralts was a female. Oak left the room, leaving the Pokemon and human to bond as much as they could.

"H-hi there," Ash said, timidly backing off a bit. The Ralt's lifted its head, showing to ruby red eyes. The eyes narrowed and it stared at him.

"**I will not be bowing down to a pathetic human**," the Ralts hissed out, glaring at Ash. Ash stared at her with wide eyes.

"You can talk?" Ash asked, very surprised.

"**It is called telepathy, idiot**," the Pokemon said. She lifted up her hand, her eyes glowing and she lifted Ash in the air. Ash clenched his eyes shut, trying to take deep breaths, but failing. He was slowly getting dizzy, as the Pokemon blurred with the room in his eyes.

Ralts felt a spike of emotion coming off the human in front of her. Initially, she thought it was anger that was with the human, for attacking him, when he should be her master. Then, she focused on the emotion, and realized that it was a deep amount of fear. The human was _scared _of her. Realizing that she could use this to her advantage, by subduing the human by using his fear against him and running off, she continued her attack.

Another wave of fear came off the boy. But, this time, there was another emotion underlying in the fear. Was it, dare she say it, _respect_?

Ralts stopped her attack and her eyes widened in shock. Ash panted in front of her, breathing heavily. Ralts looked at the human in front of her, wondering what could have brought on such terror, yet a feeling of respect from within him. Her eyes glowed again, as she went through the boy's mind, searching through his memories. His memories was a jumbled mess that was clouded in fear.

The human screamed in agony as Ralts shifted through his mind forcefully. Ralts ignored the scream and found a memory buried deep in the boy's mind. She plowed through it like a battering ram, examining the memory. She noticed the carefree child that loved Pokemon playing and chasing after the Rattata. She also noticed the Spearow overhead.

But, she noticed the boy's pain the most. The physical pain inflicted by the Spearows' beaks, as well the mental pain of abandonment that the boy felt when he saw the Rattata saving itself and not even sparing a second glance. That pain made Ralts realize that this human was different from the rest. That pain made Ralts realize that she wanted this human, who experienced so much, to be her trainer.

Slowly, she drove out of the boy's mind. The pain receded, but left the boy a whimpering mess. Ralts walked up to him slowly, as the boy struggled to walk away from her. She lifted her arm and touched his forehead with her 'hand', causing the pain to completely fade away. She sent calming emotions to the boy, helping him stop whimpering and panting.

After a moment of helping him, Ash got up, noticing Ralts in front of him. He felt fear again, but the little Pokemon sent more calming emotions to him, causing him to relax. Ralts gently patted his knee and smiled a little at him, and Ash looked down at her, feeling completely relaxed with the Pokemon. Ralts held up her hands and Ash picked her up, still under the influence of her calming emotions.

"Hi there, I am Ash," Ash said, introducing himself.

"**I am Ralts, the Feeling Pokemon. I was abandoned by my trainer because he thought I only knew Growl, yet I inherited Psychic from my mother. My trainer did not use his Pokedex to know my moves and I refused to obey him because I saw what he was like. He would abuse his other Pokemon and then abandon them. I hope you do not do the same with me.**"

"I won't. Do you have a name?" Ash asked. The Ralts shook her head as no.

"I will call you Faye," Ash said, with a grin. The Ralts smiled at him, obviously liking her name. Then, together, the abused Pokemon and terrified human made their way into the world.

**AN: Here are questions that some may ask.**

**-Why Ralts? Ralts is a humanoid Psychic Pokemon. A humanoid Pokemon can help Ash get used to Pokemon faster and Ralts can read his mind and calm him down. She can sense his feelings. Ralts, as a Gardevoir, can sacrifice themselves for their human. She is also telepathic in this story, for translation purposes.**

**-Will Ash have Pikachu? Eventually.**

**-Legendaries? Maybe.**

**Anyways, yesterday was my birthday. I am 19!**


	3. Chapter 3

_ Farla: Thank you for your review. I really appreciated the points that you made and the advice that you gave._

_I am so used to capitalizing Pokemon names and stuff because the Pokemon websites do it as well, but I do see what you mean about the capitalization problem. I apologize if it bothers you._

_I like the anime of Pokemon, but I find it too cliché. It annoys me how they repeat everything, Ash never ages, and how characters really have no personality change. How is it possible for Ash to lose to a beginning trainer in Unova [Trip] when his Pikachu would probably be over level 100? Even if his Pikachu didn't use electric moves, it should be able to knock that Snivy, who is level 5, out with Quick Attack. I intend to make things different, but similar. Initially Ash fears Pokemon, but respects them as entities that are powerful and could change life as people see it. He starts to change throughout his journey and realize that not all Pokemon are terrible and that all have various personalities and such. This is more character development. He won't be completely like anime Ash and be dumb. He will mature as he goes and actually be able to battle properly, strategize, and recognize Team Rocket/escape from their traps. Also, this will not follow the anime. If Ash had not been attacked at the young age, he would be anime Ash, but certain circumstances caused him to change. So he is still Ash, but more like an AU version of him._

_I understand know about the money issue and will look into that a bit I decided to explain that more over here [though it will be explained again in Chapter 3 or 4, somewhere along the way]. Since you mentioned this, it does seem pretty bad how I wrote it out. I will somewhat follow the game principle for this more. Every trainer is given a starter pack from the regional Pokemon professor. This consists of one starter Pokemon, ten Poke-balls, a Pokedex, a Potion, a Full Heal, 3 of each of Oran/Pecha/Cheri Berries, and 5000 Poke-dollars. The money is a starter pack for all trainers given by the Pokemon League. This money can be used to buy more items. As a trainer [in this case Ash] goes out to battle, they get money for winning. The initial sum starts out small. Gym leaders give more money than the average trainer and the stronger the Pokemon, the more money the winner gets and loser loses. If the trainer loses, they must pay with the funds they acquired from winning. If they have no funds, they can use the starter pack. If the pack and winning funds run out, they must give up their official trainer license as they have no money left. They can keep the Pokemon as a pet and battle local trainers, but official League battles [gyms, Battle Frontier, Elite Four, etc.] will not be allowed as every trainer must scan their license before entering these facilities. The trainer can still acquire enough money through local battling, and if that pays off the debt from losing battles, the trainer then can reapply for a new license, but have to re-battle the gyms again._

_Pokemon strength is from a battle level system. Since all species of say Charmander evolve at the same level to Charmeleon [provided the Pokemon wants to evolve], the League records the battle levels necessary. The Poke-ball updates any Pokemon a person catches to a central database and figures out the battle level of the Pokemon in relationship to the other members of the same species. The moves the Pokemon knows and how strong the attack and defense of the Pokemon, compared to its species, help determine the battle level. Beginning trainers have Pokemon at battle level 5. Wild Pokemon do not have stated battle levels until they are captured in a ball._

_Battle levels affect Pokemon battles and trainer ranking as well. Higher levelled Pokemon have more experience and have better moves, strength, and stamina. This mainly affects gym battles and such. A beginning trainer would face Brock against Geodude and Onix, at the battle levels of 12 and 14. A veteran trainer coming from Unova or some place after beating the League would face Brock against Pokemon like Rhypherior and Steelix, at much higher battle levels of 50 and above. Battle level allows gyms to use easier Pokemon versus beginning trainers and harder ones against veteran ones. Winning against a gym increases trainer rank, which increases the Pokemon battle levels the next gym will use. The trainer rank increase allows the trainer to win more money in battles, but also lose more money if they get defeated. Gyms have higher battle levels than average trainers and thus give more money._

_The final thing is money. Every trainer is given a card in their starter pack [which is the Trainer Card] that has the initial 5000 Poke-dollars. The card is matched to the trainer via fingerprinting, so the card can only be used by the trainer it matches. Money transfer to an actual bank account can be done in Pokecenters for a small fee to pay for the bank [food and board are free in Pokecenters, but the high local tax help pay for it. Banks use the fee when the trainer starts transferring money and such to pay for the banks]. People can transfer money between their Trainer account and bank account._

_ Tinyterror: You are correct, it is a Spearow. And thanks for the birthday wish __. Lol, it has been quite a while since I wrote that. I turned 20 almost a month back._

_ Johno12: I see what you mean with the dialogue. Thanks and I will try to keep the dialogue less confusing. I am glad that you liked the way I change Ash. I am glad you also liked the opening scene and the descriptions._

_ Thewhatzupwrite26: Pairings will be determined later. I am not sure yet if I will even put in pairings or not._

_ Chica36: Glad you find it interesting. And thanks for the birthday wish __._

_ Dragonsrule 18: Yep it is Spearow and thanks for the help via PMs. That will really help with the next few chapters._

* * *

><p>Delia Ketchum was making lunch, when she heard the door open. She looked up from the living area of their very small house and noticed Ash walk in… with a little green and white Pokemon on his head. She gave a slight gasp as she saw this, as never had she seen Ash so close to a Pokemon, after his accident. At least, that was without Ash hyperventilating and fainting.<p>

Ash had a peaceful expression on his face, accompanied by a small smile. The Pokemon patted Ash's head and Ash sat down, noticing Delia. He looked at her and his smile grew, with him saying, "Hey Mom. This is Faye, my Ralts."

Delia merely nodded, wondering how Ash was so close to the little Pokemon, without panicking. Phobias were definitely not cured within the timespan of a few hours.

"**I am a Ralts or the Feeling Pokemon. I can use my Psychic powers and transfer feelings of tranquility to my trainer, which allows him to feel safer around me.**" Faye said, telepathically. Delia gave a small frown, now realizing that her son had not overcome his fear. The Pokemon was influencing him instead. But she shook her head and went back to making lunch, which were leftovers from the restaurant that she worked at.

About an hour later, Faye had jumped off of Ash's head and gave a small yawn. She then looked at Delia and said, "**Do you have any place for me to sleep at? Your son has a lot of fear in his mind, and for me to calm down the fear with my powers took a lot out of me. I am still a young Ralts and do not have perfect control over my powers.**"

Delia nodded and placed the little Pokemon on the couch. In a few minutes, the little Ralts was sleeping on the couch, from over-exertion of her Psychic powers.

Ash blinked and looked around, wondering why the peaceful sensation had disappeared. He looked at the couch and gave a small yelp, as he noticed the sleeping Pokemon. Delia shushed him and Ash edged away from the little Pokemon.

If Faye had been awake, Ash would definitely have a panic attack at that moment. As Faye was asleep and now harmless, Ash did not have as much of a reaction as usual. He could handle Pokemon around him, so long as they were not in his personal space.

"Your Pokemon is very interesting, Ashie. And also very cute and smart," Delia said, smiling. Ash gave a small frown.

"Mom, do I have to keep her with me? She attacked me. Why can't you go in my place for this journey?" Ash asked. Delia sighed and rubbed her temples.

"Ash, you know that raising a son, as a single mother with very little education and support, was very difficult for me. Along with the debts that we had accumulated, I am just not cut out for travelling and battling. Also, I cannot leave you alone on your own, as a minor," Delia replied.

"The other reason why you need to go on this journey is to get over your fear of Pokemon, Ash."

"But Mom…" Ash said, but was cut off once Delia opened her mouth to speak.

"Ash, there are several reasons why I am saying this. One, this world is completely filled with Pokemon. Everywhere has Pokemon. I know that spraying a little bit of Repel can ward off wild Pokemon for a day, but eventually, you have to realize that Pokemon is everywhere. Every single job is somehow related to Pokemon and this fear will cripple you in the long run. And two, you need to realize that Pokemon are different in powers, personality, and appearances. The Spearow that attacked you are generally known to be as violent, territorial Pokemon. Not all Pokemon are like that, which is the same for all humans. You have good humans and you have bad humans. You have good Pokemon and you have bad Pokemon," Delia explained.

Ash thought about what she said for few minutes and realized that Delia was right about getting over his fear of Pokemon. He nodded and looked at his mother again. Delia smiled and gave him some lunch, as she and Ash conversed about their day.

That night, Delia was heading outside, to look at the night sky. She smiled softly as she had noticed that, before she left, Ash had left a small bowl of food and water for Faye. While Ash was refusing to go near Faye, he still had his morals, and would not let the little Pokemon go hungry. Delia smiled as Ash silently walked to his area of the house to sleep in. Then Delia exited through the front door.

After she walked outside, the first thing she noticed was the red eyes of the little Ralts, which was staring right back at her brown orbs. The little Pokemon did not blink as it stared at Delia, and Delia looked back at it. After about a couple of minutes of this staring, Delia blinked. Faye narrowed her eyes and looked at Delia.

"**I want to know why you are lying to your son**," Faye stated.

"Lying? What do you mean?" Delia asked.

"**The one about his father's gambling debt. I am surprised that Master Ash doesn't realize that gambling would not create such a huge debt as it is right now. It would have to be something else**," Faye replied.

Delia sighed and looked at the little Pokemon in front of her. "It is true that I lied to him. But, I did it to protect him and at the request of my husband."

"**Tell me. I am still too tired to search through your memories and I do not think Master Ash would be happy if I did that to you**," Faye said.

"It is true that Ash's father, Jonathan Ketchum, did have a gambling streak while he was younger. However, Jonathan had grown out of that habit and had pursued his journey as a Pokemon trainer. He nearly made it, had it not been for Team Arcanum," Delia explained.

"**Team Arcanum?**" Faye asked, tilting her head to one side, with an expression of curiosity on her face.

"Yes, Team Arcanum. They were a group that existed around before Ash was born. They nearly managed to take over Kanto. Unlike the current Team Rocket, which only seeks profit from their poaching means, Team Arcanum was far worse. They worked in very conniving ways and had two sections. One section would focus on appeasing to the public, which actually made the public _like _them. That section would focus on environment safety plans, Pokemon protection agencies, and other programs. As these were supposedly good causes, many people helped give funding to the programs Team Arcanum sponsored. However, most of the funding would actually go to the second section of Team Arcanum."

"**The second section?**" Faye asked, as Delia nodded.

"This section was the one that was more like Team Rocket. This section would get funds by poaching, stealing, bribing, murdering, and trafficking people. However, the section's main focus was legendary Pokemon. The group realized that having legendary Pokemon in their grasp would cause them to be much more powerful. Everyone revered legendary Pokemon as Gods and capturing a God would put Team Arcanum in a completely different level. However, to get the legendary Pokemon's attention, Team Arcanum started looking for very specific people- people that could calm Pokemon with a few words, people that could get Pokemon to do what they want without many difficulties, and people that could tame Pokemon without exerting much effort. Their plan was to use these people, what they called as Tamers, to control the legendary Pokemon and then they would force the legendary Pokemon to Team Arcanum's will. They nearly succeeded, but failed in the end."

"**What caused them to fail?**" Faye asked.

"Jonathan caused them to fail. Jonathan was a Tamer as well, and was recruited to join Team Arcanum when he was around his twenties. He did join, as he was influenced by the section of Team Arcanum which promoted environmental safety and whatnot. He thought that it would be a good thing to do for the world. However, when he joined, he was brought to the shadier section of Team Arcanum and saw the cruelties that were being done there. Team Arcanum had used Jonathan to capture a little Pokemon called Celebi, which they wanted to break to their will. Celebi was attacking everything in sight, trying to escape. The leader of Team Arcanum, Raven Blake, had Jonathan talk to the Celebi and try to befriend it. Jonathan agreed and talked to the Celebi, causing the Celebi to calm down and listen to Jonathan. Once it was calm, the other members of Team Arcanum had sent out many powerful fire type Pokemon, who used fire attacks to attack the little Celebi. Eventually, the onslaught of attacks had caused the little Celebi to bend to Team Arcanum's will. When Jonathan had seen what he had done, he could not continue staying in Team Arcanum. So, he eventually used his Pokemon, an Alakazam, to disappear."

"**Then what?**" Faye asked.

"Eventually, Jonathan had met me, a woman that was going to be sold into the human trafficking system. He had freed me and we both had come to Pallet Town, where we ended up finding sanctuary with Professor Oak. Professor Oak had found a small house for us and told us that he would pursue the matters wit Team Arcanum and talk to the league of shutting them down. However, the league said that without proof, they couldn't do anything. The words of two people was not enough to shut down a group and arrest its members. So, Jonathan decided to take matters into his own hands and defeat Team Arcanum on his own. He went, infiltrated Team Arcanum, and found the proof to deliver it to the league. This all happened around when Ash was three."

"**So, what does this have to with what you are hiding from Ash? And why does Ash not know any of this?"**

"Jonathan had told me not to tell Ash anything to protect him. Ash had started showing talent of bonding with Pokemon around the age of three, which he inherited from Jonathan. As a young Tamer, Ash would have been sought out by Team Arcanum. Jonathan did not want Team Arcanum to find Ash, and so, told me to not tell Ash about his father trying to stop Team Arcanum. Ash could have been used as a bargaining chip against Jonathan as well and Ash wanted Jonathan safe. Once Team Arcanum was stopped, around when Ash was 7, Jonathan was concerned when one of the members had escaped. This member, Giovanni Rocketo, had started forming a new group called Team Rocket. Jonathan went off to stop Giovanni before Team Rocket could get out of hand, however, Giovanni was prepared and had attacked Jonathan. Jonathan had gotten severely injured and was hospitalized. He still has not left the hospital, as he his injuries prevent him from leaving. When I initially heard Jonathan was in the hospital, I had left Ash with Professor Oak and went to the hospital to see Jonathan. Once Jonathan woke up, he begged me not to tell Ash about what had happened with Team Rocket. He was terrified that Ash would want vengeance on Giovanni and that Giovanni would kill Ash. He asked me to lie to Ash about the debts that we had. I agreed and told Ash that we had gambling debt from Jonathan, but the real debts came from Jonathan's treatments at the hospital," Delia explained, while dabbing her eyes with a napkin.

"**So, you lied to Master Ash to protect him and to keep him from Team Rocket's clutches. But, this caused him to hate his father and if he ever knew you kept this from him, he would be very angry. Actually, more than that. When I read through Master Ash's mind, I noticed his love for his mother. You mean the world to him and he trusts you more than anyone else in this world. He respects you and cares for you, while is a protective over you. He would go to the ends of the world just for his mother and hates his father for leaving you and him, but mostly you**," Faye said.

"I know… I just hope he never has to find out. The other reason why I wanted Ash on this journey was because Giovanni knows that Jonathan has a son. And Giovanni is searching for the son. Eventually, Giovanni will find Ash. Ash has more of Jonathan's features than mine and I could not make myself change Ash's last name to my maiden name. I want Ash to get strong to protect himself from Team Rocket, not just to pay off this debt. But to get Ash to become strong, he needs to have Pokemon. He needs to get over his fear of Pokemon and be able to protect himself with Pokemon. I need you to help him and to be there for him in my place. Please, Faye," Delia begged.

"**All right, but when the time is right, I will have to tell Master Ash what you told me. It is not right for him to have such hatred for his own father, who had gotten incapacitated to try and give his son a better and safer life**," Faye stated.

"All right," Delia nodded, but looking sad at what Faye said. She knew that when Ash hears the truth, he will never forgive his parents for hiding something like this from him. Delia would have rather carried this secret to the grave. But, the Ralts family was a creature of pure heart and did not like to hide secrets from others, especially their master. Eventually Faye would tell Ash the truth. And Delia knew she has to be mentally ready for that time.

The little Ralts yawned and held her arms up to Delia. "**Do you mind carrying me and putting me on the couch, so I may sleep? The couch is too high and all this usage of my Telapathy is making me very tired.**"

Delia chuckled softly as she picked up Faye and cradled Faye in her arms like a baby. She placed Faye on the couch and then headed to her own area of the house, and finally went to bed.

* * *

><p><em>AN: God, I finally got over my severe case of writer's block and actually wrote it out. I should probably post it online before I thing 'ugh I hate his chapter' and rewrite it again [and leave you all with another few months of waiting]. Oh yeah, special thanks to 'Dragonsrule 18' for getting me off my lazy butt and having me write this out._

_Anyways, I realized that the gambling was not a good enough reason for the giant debt, so I added all the stuff about Team Arcanum and Ash's father. This was also used to shape the Team Rocket idea, as well as give information on why Delia is hiding the secret from Ash. This also explains why Delia is making Ash go on the journey- it is for his own good and any mother wants what is best for their child. Also, Professor Oak knows the truth about Jonathan Ketchum, but is also keeping this a secret from Ash._

_Ash's fear of Pokemon is a unique case. Ash naturally attracts Pokemon to him and can easily calm them down and befriend them. However, Ash is terrified of Pokemon. So long as they aren't very close to him, he can handle their presence around him without many problems. But, he doesn't feel comfortable if they are close to him and if they are around two-three feet away from him, he starts to hyperventilate. He tends to associate Pokemon with remembering the pain from the Spearow attack. While he has heard, multiple times, that Pokemon were not all the same, in his mind, all Pokemon are feral and can attack at any second. The Spearow attack is a unique case where Ash's Taming ability did not work, and it will be shows as why later on._

_Also, Ash will be getting an interesting team of Pokemon. I intend for Ash to get Pokemon that are usually calm, timid, or very docile. These Pokemon will be less likely to attack Ash and cause Ash's fear to come forth. I intend for Ash to have at least one of each type of Pokemon [I am focusing on the primary typing of Pokemon to achieve this, not the secondary type]. I also want to give Ash Pokemon that are not overused. Yes, he has a Ralts, but Faye was necessary due to the Pokedex entry she has._

_Okay, the training system, money system, and Pokemon levelling system will be explained in the next chapter or so. Also, Ash will start to tolerate Faye some more, due to certain reasons._

_I do know that I am making Ash have some PTSD with Pokemon, due to the incident as a kid. However, I will try to make it as realistic as possible, where just a hug will not 'cure' him. Certain events will trigger Ash to have memories of the attack and start to freak out. That is why Faye is there, so she can calm him down._

_As for Faye, she is a young Ralts. She can manipulate her Psychic powers, but it is very draining of her to do so. She can use telepathy, levitate herself, read minds, and move objects/people/Pokemon. However, over-exerting herself will cause her to faint in battle. Telepathy isn't as draining, but reading minds is more tiring. And moving objects with Psychic is draining, depending on the weight. Faye can easily immobilize and move a 4lb Spearow, but immobilizing and moving a Geodude, which is a 40 lb Pokemon, would be much more difficult._


End file.
